The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-19
NUMBER SO.
hat 1 Know About Horticulture"


NO. l.
(or of the PaIdtkd Nesr.
ORMoND-oS-THE-HA HALIFAX, May 16.
ou ask me to write what l know
nut horticulture. When had been in
rida six months, thought
w all about IL; now, having been here
ven years l know less lin my own es-
ation) than | did then. The mys-
les grow more deep, the field wider,
d the pursuit more interesting day by
y. A gentleman came here from the
nth, purchased land, prepared il for
orange grove. and then went 10 a
Ighbor who had lived here twenty
ars, and asked his advice, and system,
raising an orange grove. The neigh
replied: IL know nothing about or
&c raising" In astonishment he then
ked; well, whom shall go TO for adj
ey' The neighbor replied: II will tell
IA: You go down To the hotel, find a
be, well dressed young man who has
r. in the State about three months;
ask him, and nine chances i'm ten he
tell you all about orange raising.
are more cautious about giving adj
e than we used 10 be. In the first place
angers will not take il; I'm the second,
same rule does Lot apply under all
cumstances. We are inclined 10 leave
something: for instance. one man
ss plant your trees at least one foot
CHER than the surface Of the ground:
owns low hammock land; would that
for high hammock? A man advises
pruning his neighbor hears IL, and, be-
lieving in doing things well, nearly ruins
his trees he il disgusted with that
theory, and lets his trees grow up into
scrubs. Now, if he had used common
sense, prined out all dead wood, all
trunk suckers. large thorns and small
inside branches, so that he could stand
up, or climb up inside his trees, thereby
letting in the sun and air, he would have
less scale, handsomer trees, more fruit,
and he would say pruning Is good"
Some say 'you cannot improve upon
nature, let the trees take care Of them
selves, they will do well enough" Bah
What did the Lord say 10 Adam, our
illustrious forefather. when he put him
in the Garden of Eden? "Prune IL 7"
He did not give him rocking chair, and
say To him, adam, do not touch those
trees planted them, and will make
them grow and bear fruit without your
help.v
WE CAN IMPROVE NATURE.
We can improve upon nature, and that
is one thing we are here for. l am not
very old, but can remember when the
tomato was grown for an ornamental
plant and was considered not fit TO eat.
Where did our Irish potato come fromr
From the mountains OF South America,
and il was almost poison. Our orange
was once "A bunch of seed and no pulp
Can we not improve upon naturel Make
your orange trees, or any other trees,
any shape you wish. We prefer 10 have
our trees low and spreading; so much
less labor TO pick the fruit, and the wind,
which is the worst enemy we have to
contend with, has less effect. IL "A young
tree throws up tall, straight branch, do
not cut il off, but bend IL down and lie
it, either to n weight or 10 "A stake In the
ground; then it will send out lateral
branches and fill in, making the tree low
and spreading; do not attempt 10 make
a tree good shaped i'm one day, but give
il time. We prune our trees In the spring
after the fruit is gathered; and before
they begin to grow, breaking Oft all suck
ers and inside sprouts as chance TO see
them during the summer.
AFTER PRUNING, SCRUB.
After pruning scrub the bodies, and
spray the tops, and this year shall spray
often, as last year the scale increased
owing TO the enfeebled condition Of the
trees from the cold the winter previons,
and the heavy crop Of fruit. | also be
lieve the rust can be prevented by spray
ing.
To scrub the bodies of large trees, cut
from the body Of "A cabbage palmetto
tree, "A soft one, the outside, strip two
inches wide, one inch thick, and fifteen
inches long; smooth one end for handle
and use the outside; IL grows better with
use and Is cheap. For wash use the
Kerosene Emulsion; for spraying ] find
nothing to give better results than the
following; Ten pounds Of whale oil
soap, one and half pounds Tor cans) Of
concentrated lye; put these in a kettle,
add water and put over a slow fire until
dissolved, then pour into a kerosene bar
rel and fill IL with water. This Is cheap,
both are good fertilizers, and you do not
feel that you are wasteful II you are Law
ish with it.
No ROOM EoR oRowLERs.
Mr.. Editor, they say "brevity In the